Engineering Inc. - July/August 2015 - (Page 34)
Girl
By gerry Donohue
Children's
books
promote
"yes I Can" to
engineering
for gradeschool girls
Empower
W
hen reflecting on her
30-plus-year career
as a civil engineer, Cheryl
Cunningham can't help but get
enthusiastic. "It's the coolest job
in the world," says Cunningham,
president of PCS Engineers, a 25-person civil
engineering firm in Avon, Ind. "It's exciting. You get
to use your imagination. You solve problems."
Now Cunningham is trying to share
her passion with a demographic group
that hasn't historically been attracted to
engineering-grade-school girls. She and
her sister, Judy Cunningham, are creating a series of I Can Be an Engineer children's books to encourage young girls to
consider the possibilities of an engineering career. They have already published
two books, Yes I Can! I'm Clover Anne!
and I Can Find a Way! I'm Lucy Kay!
34
ENgINEERINg INC.
July / August 2015
"It's frustrating to me that we have the
same percentage of women in engineering today that we had when I graduated
more than 30 years ago," Cunningham
says. "Other professions, such as architecture, have figured out how to entice more
women, but that hasn't happened in our
industry."
Studies put the percentage of
women in engineering between 10
and 20 percent. According to a 2013
National Science Foundation (NSF)
report, women comprise about 12 percent of the 1.5 million U.S. engineers.
In some practice areas, the percentage
of women is remarkably low-among
mechanical engineers, for example,
women comprise less than 1 percent.
Cunningham believes
the seeds of that disparity germinate in grade
school. "I think the
biggest reason that girls
don't get into engineering
is they don't even know
what it is," she says. "The
second biggest reason is
Source: National
they just don't see them- Science Foundation
selves doing it, because
it's such a male-dominated profession."
Cunningham recalls her own introduction to the field. Her high school guidance counselor noted her high math aptitude and told her that if she were male,
12%
of U.S.
engineers
are
women.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - July/August 2015
Engineering Inc. - July/August 2015
From ACEC to You
Market Watch
Legislative Action
Secrets of the Centenarians
State of the Industry
Reshaping Cities
2015 Professional Liability Insurance Survey of Member Firms
Girl Empower
2015 Fall Conference
Guest Column
Guest Column
Guest Column
Business Insights
Members in the News
Mergers and Acquisitions
Engineering Inc. - July/August 2015
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